Men hate to be 'orphaned,' 'widowed,' or 'worthless,'But this is how kings and lords describe themselves.

For one gains by losingAnd loses by gaining.

What others teach, I also teach; that is:'A violent man will die a violent death!'This will be the essence of my teaching."

I love this chapter of the Tao. It describes division and union.

The "One" can be divided into two polar opposites, yin and yang, man and woman, light and dark, strong and weak, up and down. Yin cannot exist without yang. Light cannot exist without dark. Up cannot exist without down. Without yin and yang, there would exist only monism. But without the relationship between yin and yang, there would only exist dualism; two poles with no middle ground.

The relation between yin and yang creates a third entity, which gives rise to "ten thousand things." These ten thousand things signify every object in existence. Yin exists only in relation to yang. Light exists only in relation to dark. Up exists only in relation to down.

When yin is active yang is passive, but still present. I might be actively walking 'up' the stairs, but only because 'down' exists passively.

The relationship between yin and yang is what creates everything of essence! This relationship explains why there does not exist a singularity or a dualism. It is why the universe is so intricate and beautiful!

"All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have what ugliness is; they all know the skill in the skillful, and in doing this they have what the want of skill is.

So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to the other; that difficulty and ease produce the one the other; that length and shortness fashion out the one the figure of the other; that height and lowness arise from the contrast of the one with the other; that the musical notes and tones become harmonious through the relation of one with another; and that being before and behind give the idea of one following another."